ACCORDING to our 1H 2022 FortiGuard Labs Threat Landscape report, malicious cyber actors are experimenting with new attack vectors and increasing the frequency of zero-day and other attacks. They’re also stepping up the variety of their attacks. In the first half of 2022 the number of new ransomware variants we identified increased by nearly 100 per cent compared to the previous six-month period.

The takeaway? Cyber criminals are showing no signs of slowing down. This increase in attacks means there’s no better time to examine your existing security controls. Adopting a Zero Trust security model is more important than ever for organisations to reduce risk and strengthen their security posture. Multifactor authentication and universal Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) are two of the most valuable technologies organisations can adopt to integrate Zero Trust principles.

What is Zero Trust?

Organisations of all sizes are adopting Zero Trust as a corporate security strategy to enable digital acceleration, support remote and hybrid work, and reduce risk. A Zero Trust security model assumes that anything or anyone trying to connect to your network is a potential threat. Every user must be verified before permission is granted to access critical resources. This verification applies regardless of whether the user is trying to access those resources remotely or is already within the network perimeter, helping to ensure a higher security posture for organisations with a hybrid workforce.

ZTNA takes the principles of Zero Trust and applies them to application access. Its per-session controls mean that users and devices are authenticated and monitored every time they seek to access an application, closing security gaps that can arise from things like unattended devices.

Organisational Benefits of Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

Increased protection against breaches: Security breaches often mean a loss of resources — like data, time, and money. MFA helps protect these valuable assets by ensuring only authorised users have access.

A safer remote work environment: With the move to WFA, employees are logging into their work devices at home, on the road, and everywhere. MFA gives your employees access to the systems and the data they need while implementing appropriate security guardrails.

Defence in depth: MFA adds another layer of security to your organisation, providing enhanced protection against potential breaches.

User Benefits of Multifactor Authentication

Identity protection: MFA offers a backstop if some of a user’s data fall into the wrong hands. Even if a username or password is compromised accidentally or intentionally, that user’s overall security is still protected because criminals don’t have access to things like tokens or biometric data that are also required to gain access.

Data protection: Like identity protection, MFA makes it far more difficult for attackers to access a user’s identity and associated data.

A safer remote work environment: With MFA users can log into their devices from anywhere, confident that their identity and data are adequately protected. And because MFA can be software-based, users can stay productive and easily access the corporate network — regardless of location.

As the threat landscape continues to expand and attackers find clever new ways to infiltrate networks, Zero Trust strategies, ZTNA, and MFA play an increasingly important role in any modern security strategy.

Jaime Chanaga is a field CISO at Fortinet for Latin America and the Caribbean.